Josh Mauser | MLive.comWMU freshman forward Darius Paul makes a steal in the backcourt, which leads to a Broncos basket during the first half Tuesday night at University Arena. Paul finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Marygrove's Diante Taylor, left, trails the play.

KALAMAZOO, MI – It’s been said from the beginning about this Western Michigan University men’s basketball team, and the home crowd saw a glimpse of it Tuesday night.

During the first half of their 85-40 home-opening blowout win against overmatched NAIA foe Marygrove College, the Broncos looked like a team that could frustrate its coach and fans at times. In the second half, they cranked up the intensity and showed signs of a group that could frustrate opponents with relentless effort.

The 2012-13 season is only two games old, and as WMU coach Steve Hawkins has repeated, the Broncos (1-1) are nowhere near the team now that they could be in February or March. It’s “very much a work in progress,” he said in the postgame interview.

We may know a little more following WMU’s journey to Tampa this weekend for the three-day South Florida Invitational. But even then, a five-game, nine-day span to start the season will hardly be a precursor to the fate of a squad whose roster is nearly 50 percent freshmen just getting their feet wet in Division I ball.

WMU Athletic Media RelationsSteve Hawkins

“The team has been very unselfish. You guys have heard me say how much I enjoy being around this team. That’s one of the reasons why. We didn’t play well in the first half – that had zero to do with selfishness, attitudes, anything along those lines that we’ve had to deal with in the past, that could pop up with any team, and I don’t mean last year (during a frustrating 14-20 campaign),” said Hawkins, whose team failed to communicate in the first half Tuesday or closely follow their coach’s scouting report, which contributed to a closer-than-expected 35-23 halftime lead.

“ … Everybody likes each other, there’s nobody moaning and groaning about playing time or shots or anything along those lines yet. They’re just a very unselfish team. Now, they still have very little idea of what it’s like to be a Division I basketball player, and the demands and time. The scouting report – this is the second week in a row that they have not been able to follow something in the scouting report that we did not want to give up. They’re going to get a good dose of that (Wednesday at practice) – they got it at halftime. ‘What did I put right here on this board, where they wanted to score from, before the game?’ And then we went out and, sure enough, we let ‘em do it.

“That’s a lesson that can be learned,” Hawkins continued, “and there’s so much that has to be done, but the reason I’m giddy about being around these kids is they listen. They’ll work on it because they are an unselfish group. That goes to who they are as people, not just who they are as players.”

People must be wondering, “Why did WMU even schedule a team like Marygrove?” – an opponent that lost by 40 to Division II Saginaw Valley State University. The answer is simple: The Broncos have a lot of new and/or inexperienced players, who need to see the floor and gain confidence in game situations in the early going. As Hawkins said after the game, it’s valuable even if those young players are making mistakes. That’s how they learn, through corrections made in film study.

“There are always little things that you can pick apart, but overall they did a good job,” WMU senior forward Nate Hutcheson said about the freshmen as a whole. “They’re consciously trying to do everything that they need to do. Even if sometimes they’ll miss some technical thing, that’s just, we work on that in film session. Everybody, not just the freshmen, works on those little technical things in film sessions.

“We’re learning how to play with each other and what each other’s strengths are.”

Everybody on this team needs to grow together, and that includes the three redshirt juniors and three seniors – not just the freshmen or sophomores.

Hawkins noted that in the postgame as well. He was happy with the effort in the second half, when the Broncos opened with a 22-3 run and exhibited the communication and intensity their coach implored during his halftime speech.

“The communication was really low,” said Hawkins, who at one time during the first half had five freshmen on the floor together – a first for him in his time at WMU, as far as the coach could recall.

“It was during that time that our bench, who was mostly the starters and a lot of the returning players, turned around and looked out on the court and somebody said something to me – just sort of aloud, not really to me – and said, ‘We’ve got to pick it up. We’re not talking.’ (Hawkins responded), ‘No, no, no. It’s not just them. You guys sounded just as silent.’”

No disrespect intended toward Marygrove – Hawkins echoed that sentiment as well – but Tuesday’s game was all about the Broncos and making progress. It’s hard to say how much progress was made. That question will not be answered until WMU gets deeper into the season and the competition improves.

Just know that, this group will be a work in progress throughout the season. That’s not a bad thing, but patience will be required – by Hawkins and Broncos fans alike.